California Center for Population Research [University of California-Los Angeles] Working Paper: “Loss Aversion and Duration of Residence,” by Phillip S. Morrison and William A.V. Clark (CCPR-2017-001, March 2017, .pdf format, 25p.). Note: Links to the abstract and the full text of the paper available at:

Abstract:
Parents play important roles in their children’s lives, and parental involvement in elementary schooling in particular is meaningful for a range of child outcomes. Given the increasing number of school-aged children with incarcerated parents, this study explores the ways paternal incarceration is associated with mothers’ and fathers’ reports of home- and school-based involvement in schooling. Using Fragile Families Study data, findings suggest that a father’s incarceration inhibits his school- and home-based involvement in schooling, while associations for maternal involvement are weaker. Results are robust to alternative specifications of incarceration that address concerns about selection and unobserved heterogeneity. Findings also hold when teachers’ reports are substituted, and across levels of father-child contact. Lastly, a test of the system avoidance mechanism is conducted, and results suggest it partially explains reductions in school involvement for fathers following incarceration. Given the reoccurring interest in the interconnection between families and schools and how this translates into success, this study suggests that paternal incarceration is associated with lower parental involvement in schooling and highlights the role of system avoidance in this association. Attachment to social institutions like schools is quite consequential, and this work highlights another way mass incarceration influences social life in the US.

We fill an important gap in prior research by assessing (1) the prevalence of exclusionary discipline in elementary school; (2) racial disparities in exclusionary discipline in elementary school; and (3) the association between exclusionary discipline and aggressive behavior in elementary school. Using the Fragile Families Study, we estimate that more than 1 in 10 children born 1998-2000 in large US cities were suspended or expelled by age nine (most in third grade). We also find extreme racial disparity; upwards of 30% of non-Hispanic black males were suspended or expelled, compared to 8% of non-Hispanic white or other-race males. Disparities are largely due to differences in children’s school and home environments rather than to behavior problems. Furthermore, we find suspension or expulsion associated with increased aggressive behavior in elementary school. These results are robust to a rich set of covariates, within-individual fixed-effects, matching methods, and sensitivity checks for reverse causality and selection. Our results imply that school discipline policies relying heavily on exclusionary punishment may be fostering childhood inequality.

A. “Does the age difference between partners influence the career achievements of women?” by Anna Oksuzyan, Angela Carollo, Sven Drefahl, Carlo Giovanni Camarda, Kaare Christensen, and Alyson van Raalte (WP-2017-008, March 2017, .pdf format, 28p.). Note: Links to the abstract and the full text of the paper available at:

B. “A cause-of-death decomposition of the young adult mortality hump,” by Adrien Remund, Carlo G. Camarda and Tim Riffe (WP-2017-007, March 2017, .pdf format, 21p.). Note: Links to the abstract and the full text of the paper available at:

University of Michigan Population Studies Center Working Paper: “Family Support for Older Persons in Thailand: Challenges and Opportunities,” by John E. Knodel and Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan (PSC Research Report No. 17-879, March 2017, .pdf format, 25p.). Note: Links to the abstract and the full text of the paper available at:

WHO Mortality Database Update: WHO updated the following files in (.zipped compressed ASCII format, with documentation in .pdf, Word or Microsoft Excel format) it’s Mortality Database on March 29, 2017: Documentation, Availability, Notes, Population and live births, Mortality ICD-9, and Mortality ICD-10 (this file comes in two parts).

US Bureau of Labor Statistics Article: “Unemployment holds steady for much of 2016 but edges down in the fourth quarter,” by Vernon Brundage Jr. and Evan Cunningham (Monthly Labor Review, March 2017, .pdf and HTML format, 29p.).